Sarah
Louisa Forten

Prayer

This
sacred right none are denied,
Which makes the soul to Christ allied;
Man bends the heart and bows the knee,
And knows in prayer that he is free.
Yes, free to ask of Him, whate'er
The fainting heart alone can cheer;
To worship at that holy shrine,
Where beams thy Spirit, Lord, divine.
And Afric's children they are free,
To breathe their vows, their prayers to Thee;
With thought of future joy and gain,
The slave forgets his grief and pain.
Forgets awhile his slavish fear;
Forgets,-that fetters bind him here;
And in that sweet communion rest
His hopes, his fears,-for he is blest.